犯得着／犯不着 fàn de zháo／fàn bu zháo

犯得着／犯不着（fàn de zháo／fàn bu zháo）means “to be worth / not worth the trouble of doing something”. '犯不着' means something is not worth the trouble, effort or emotional cost, while '犯得着' (usually in a rhetorical question) questions whether it is really worth it. Formation: 犯得着／犯不着（着 读 zháo，得着常用反问）

to be worth / not worth the trouble of doing something

HSK6

Formation

犯得着／犯不着（着 读 zháo，得着常用反问）

Explanation

'犯不着' means something is not worth the trouble, effort or emotional cost, while '犯得着' (usually in a rhetorical question) questions whether it is really worth it. Here 着 reads zháo. It is used to say an action isn't worth doing, especially getting upset over trifles.

Examples

犯不着为这点小事生气。
fàn bu zháo wèi zhè diǎn xiǎo shì shēng qì
It's not worth getting angry over such a trivial thing.
犯得着这么认真吗？
fàn de zháo zhè me rèn zhēn ma
Is it really worth taking it this seriously?

Note

着 reads zháo. '犯得着…吗?' is a rhetorical question meaning 'is it really worth…?'

FAQ

犯得着／犯不着 — what does it mean and how is it used?

to be worth / not worth the trouble of doing something. '犯不着' means something is not worth the trouble, effort or emotional cost, while '犯得着' (usually in a rhetorical question) questions whether it is really worth it. Here 着 reads zháo. It is used to say an action isn't worth doing, especially getting upset over trifles.

犯得着／犯不着 — how do you form it?

犯得着／犯不着（着 读 zháo，得着常用反问）

犯得着／犯不着 — any usage notes?

着 reads zháo. '犯得着…吗?' is a rhetorical question meaning 'is it really worth…?'

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